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When you listen to Mark Ballard talk about his premiere line of brownies and blondies, you can’t help but think these treats are not just special but way-out-of-the-ordinary special.

When Mark (’84 family services; MS ’86 professional studies in education) and his partner, Tom Finney, started their own business in 2005, they knew they had to do it better than anyone else.

“Nobody had done brownies and blondies in a great way,” Mark explains. So he and Tom did research: Who makes the best brownies?

“We ate brownies from New York to San Francisco,” he says.

The result was Sugardaddy’s Sumptuous Sweeties, a brownie and blondie boutique bakery in Columbus, Ohio.

Mark, co-founder and co-CEO of the company, said they focused on creating a “premium product with premium packaging, promotion, and people.” Each batch of “blondes and brunettes” is made by hand by an executive chef and his assistants, using top-quality ingredients including eggs and butter from a local farm. The treats are cut into three-inch rounds and sold in stores or shipped fresh “door to door in 24.” Flavors include campfire s’mores, chai spiced, cinnamon, rich mint, caramel, peanut butter, cherry almond, and more.

Sugardaddy’s has been featured by more than 50 national media outlets, including the Food Network, Today Show, Ellen, InStyle, Midwest Living, and the Washington Post. But Mark says it was the winning “Throwdown! with Bobby Flay” appearance on the Food Network that gained the company the most attention and made the Tahiti Blonde Sweetie a national superstar.

“At first, it was easier to get national endorsements than local ones,” Mark said. But that’s changed, and now Sugardaddy’s has been named a “best local treat” and has expanded to three stores in Columbus.

“Our goal is to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth,” says Mark. “We make a complete dessert in a three-inch round.”

Note: After 10 years as owner of Sugardaddy’s Sumptuous Sweeties, Mark Ballard announced in late 2013 that he and his partner had sold the Sugardaddy’s brand and business to a couple in Columbus, Ohio.